Closure for receptacles



March 2, 1943. w. M. MOXLEY I 2,312,843

CLOSURHFOR REcEPiTAcLEs Filed Jan. 6, 1941 I lt/78 Patented Mar. 2, 1943rs ear FFICE This invention relates to a closure for containers. It isof particular utility'as a closure for the tops of the bodies oflanterns of the character of that shown in my U. S. Patent 2,096,349issued October 19, 1937.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a cover or closurehaving locking means of such a nature that by a partial rotation of aconveniently located and shaped hand-grasp elemom, a plurality of boltsmay be, simultaneously, retracted to release the closure or projectedtosecure the closure in place upon the lantern body or other receptacle.Springs are associated with the bolts, positioned to act by a pastcenter" thrust to hold the bolts in either the retracted or projectedposition. The several parts of the closure are so correlated that theclosure, hand-grasp element, bolts, springs and actuating means for thebolts are held in assembled relation as a unit and without thepossibility of the bolts dropping out of proper position even when theclosure, as a whole, is removed from the body.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetailed description which follows.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a View partly in side elevation and partly in verticalsection of a portion of a lantern body having the closure of the presentinvention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the bolts showing the samein retracted position;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal, sectional View upon line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showingthe bolts in projected or looking position;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the hand-grasp element hereinafter described,and,

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the cover of the closure for the container.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawing.

In the drawing 5 designates any suitable container, such, for example,as an electric lantern body. When used as a lantern body the receptaclemay be provided with any suitable form of bail 6. A cover plate orclosure '3 is shaped to fit snugly upon the top edge of the body 5 andcarries a plurality of downwardly projecting ears 8.

A hand-grasp disc or plate 9 adapted to be turned in a horizontal planewith relation to cover I, is secured by suitable rivets IE to a boltactuating eccentric II, it being noted that these rivets pass through ahub-like projection I2 of the plate 9, which hub fits and has a bearingin a central opening it of the cover I. Pins or rivets M are fixed attheir upper ends in plate 9 and at their lower ends to the eccentric lI, while their intermediate portions are free to have a limited travelin arcuate slots l5 of the cover 1. Thus the hand-grasp plate 9 and theeccentric ll may be given a partial rotation with respect to the cover land this partial rotation is utilized to actuate locking bolts [6.

The inner ends of these bolts are pivotally connected at H to ahorizontal flange I8 which constitutes a part of the eccentric i I,while the outer ends of the bolts are slidably disposed in the ears 8.Springs l 9 bear between the ears 8 and washers 28 which lie adjacentthe pivots ll.

When the hand-grasp element is turned in one direction to the limit ofits movement as determined by the length of the arcuate slots IS, thebolts are retracted to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 and theclosure may be lifted on of the receptacle 5, while when the saidelement is turned to the limit of its movement in the other directionthe bolts will be projected outwardly through ears 8 to pass through thewall of re ceptacle 5.

The ends of the bolts are preferably beveled as indicated at 2| so thatduring their projection they exert a cam action to draw the cover 1snugly upon receptacle 5. When used as a lantern body a spring 22 may besecured to the underside of the eccentric in position to engage the drycell 23 of the battery or to engage a connecting bar between the drycells in batteries employing more than one cell. In either case thedrawing action exerted by the beveled ends of the bolts 2| increases thetension upon the spring 22.

It should be noted that the construction illustrated lends itself to usewith receptacles of other than circular form. The cover could be appliedjust as readily to an oval or oblong or square receptacle, it being onlynecessary to vary the length of the bolts in order to take care ofdifferent shapes.

The parts are of such a nature that most of them may be readily stampedout at a small cost. It will be seen that the plate 9, cover I,eccentric l I, ears 8 andbolts l 6 are all united in such a Way thatthey remain a unitary structure during the placement or removal of theclosure. Many of the lantern bodies now on the market utilize covershaving either a mere slip engagement or a screw engagement with thelantern body. While covers of that nature work satisfactorily when thedevices are new, the least exposure to unfavorable weather conditionsresults in such rusting and corrosion as to make it very difficult, ifnot impossible, to get the covers on or ofi.

The present invention provides a closure in which the hand-grasp elementis of such size and exerts such power with respect to the looking boltsas to make it easy to manipulate the parts under all conditions of use,while at the same time insuring that the cover will remain locked orunlocked under the past center thrust of the springs at the oppositelimits of movement of the eccentric II.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction set forth, but that it includes within its purviewwhateverchanges fairly come within'either the terms or the spirit of theappended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim l. A device of the characterdescribed, comprising a closure plate, a hand-grasp element journaled toturn with respect to said plate, a

bolt actuating member secured to the handgrasp element and locatedbeneath the closure plate and having an out-turned longitudinal flangewhich constitute its outer edge, a receptacle upon which the closureplate fits, a plurality of bolts pivoted at their inner ends to saidflange and adapted to be projected or retracted by rotation of saidmember with respect to the closure plate, depending ears carried by theclosure plate and adapted to fit within the receptacle, and within whichthe outer ends of the bolts are slidably disposed, there being openingsin the side walls of the receptacle for the reception of the outer endsof said bolts when said bolts are projected, compression springs bearingbetween the depending ears and the pivot points of said bolts, thedimensions, relationship, and throw of the named parts being such thatsaid springs are under greatest compression when the bolts are radiallydisposed with respect to the closure plate and are farthest projected,and means for limiting the throw of the hand-grasp element with respectto the cover plate in such manner that the pivot points of the boltswill lie in past center position at each of said limits of movement.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a receptacle, aclosure plate shaped to fit upon and to close said receptacle, saidplate having a central opening formed therethrough, a hand grasp elementoverlying the closure plate and having a hub-like portion which projectsthrough the closure plate and which serves to journal the hand graspportion in the closure plate, a circular member secured to the undersideof said hub-like portion and of a diameter to overlap the closure plate,pins traversing said member and the hand grasp element, said pinspassing through arcuate slots formed in the closure plate, wherebymovement of the hand grasp element with respect to the closure plate islimited in both directions, said circular member having-an outwardlyprojecting flange around its lower edge, a plurality of bolts, means forpivoting the inner ends of said bolts to said flange, depending memberscarried by the closure plate and fitting within the receptacle in closeengagement with the wall of said receptacle, said bolts passing throughopenings formed in said members, there being openings in the wall of thereceptacle for the reception of the outer ends of said bolts when saidbolts are projected, compression springs surrounding the bolts andbearing between the depending members and the pivot points of saidbolts, said bolts having their outer ends beveled to coact with thewalls of the openings of the receptacle to exert an inward drawingaction upon the closure plate, as said bolts are thrust into saidopenings.

3. A structure as recited in claim 2, in combination with a battery tobe retained in said receptacle and a spring bearing between the end ofsaid battery and the underside of said circular member, the action ofthe beveled ends of the bolts tending to increase the tension upon saidspring as the closure plate is drawn toward the receptacle.

WILLIAM M. MOXLEY.

